Roberto Arduino, MD

Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston

Can you describe your work in the HIV field?

I am a medical doctor who provides care to people with HIV at Thomas Street, a specialized facility part of the Harris Health System dedicated to medical care and social services for people with HIV in Houston, TX. The clinic follows approximately 5,000 people with HIV, of which 30% are female, 42% are African American/Black, and 35% Hispanic. In addition, I devote a significant part of my time to clinical research, including studies of new antiretroviral drugs, treatment strategies, immune activation/inflammation, and HIV remission/cure. I am the leader of the NIH-funded Houston AIDS Research Team (HART), which is a Clinical Research Site for the Advancing Clinical Therapeutic Globally (ACTG) network and for the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN).

How did you become interested in working in HIV?

I was a medical student when the first cases of AIDS were reported in June 1981. After completing my residency in internal medicine in 1987, I started a fellowship in infectious diseases. It was difficult being a young physician and seeing patients with HIV who, at the beginning of the pandemic, we didn’t have much to offer besides treatment and prevention of complications secondary to immune deficiency. I joined the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in 1990. My outpatient clinic was at Thomas Street, where a significant number of patients were and are Spanish monolingual. I felt the need to provide care to this population and to make new drugs in development accessible to them through clinical trials. My current research is funded mainly by the NIH. It allows me to enroll special populations in clinical trials, such as women, Hispanic, and African American participants.

How would you describe your cultural background?

I am Hispanic, born and raised in Argentina, from a family of Italian immigrants. Since I came to the US, I have incorporated a new cultural background and social habits into my interactions with others, while maintaining my family’s moral values, customs, and traditions from Argentina.

Juan Pablo Zapata, PhD

Assistant Professor, Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science  |  University of California San Diego  

Can you describe your work in the HIV field?

The work I do in HIV with Latino/a communities is, in many ways, a reflection of where I come from and the experiences that have stayed with me along the way. Much of my work focuses on rethinking how we talk about risk and access, developing implementation strategies that are actually designed with Latino/a communities in mind, and exploring how scalable models of care can improve access to behavioral health.

How would you describe your cultural background?

I was born in Medellín, Colombia—la ciudad de la eterna primavera—and moved to the U.S. during elementary school, nearly twenty-five years ago. Like many immigrant families, we navigated the maze toward citizenship, adapted to a new language and school system, and went years without health insurance. "Regular checkups were rare, though because my aunt had been a dentist in Colombia and lived with us, my baby teeth were always pulled right on schedule.

Is there a cultural tradition, person, or experience that has had a meaningful influence on who you are today?

Through it all, my parents persevered in ways that continue to amaze me. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate how much my parents’ perseverance was about creating opportunities for us, not just getting by. We sometimes describe this through humildad (staying grounded and remembering where you come from) and aguantar (enduring, even when things get hard). Or, as we heard growing up: ¡Échale ganas!

These experiences have also shaped how I see culture in HIV research. So often, conversations focus on how certain cultural values might get in the way of prevention or care. Machismo, religion, familismo—they can quickly become explanations for why disparities exist. But growing up, I also saw how these same values could offer support. That perspective continues to inform my work, pushing me to think beyond one-size-fits-all approaches and consider how prevention and care can better reflect the lives and experiences of the communities they aim to serve.

Daniel G. Garza

Director of Outreach for Anal Cancer, HIV and HPV, Cheeky Charity 

Can you describe your work in the HIV field?

I work in the HIV field by focusing on outreach, education, and storytelling that center the lived experiences of my Latino upbringing and my sexual identity.

How did you become interested in working in HIV?

My interest in HIV began through my own journey and the barriers I experienced—moments that shaped how I show up for my community. Those experiences pushed me to turn pain into purpose.

Is there a cultural tradition, person, or experience that has had a meaningful influence on who you are today?

A meaningful influence on who I am today comes from the cultural and religious traditions and social norms I grew up with. The people who taught me resilience, service, and the responsibility of showing up for others continue to guide my advocacy work.

Jahn Jaramillo, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow, UC San Diego/San Diego State University

How did you become interested in working in HIV?

I became interested in HIV research after facing my own diagnosis around seven years ago. In terms of coming face-to-face with my own mortality and after being in the public health field for over 10 years, I realized it was time to go back to school, obtain my PhD, and support the health of Latinx and LGBTQ communities who are, like me, directly impacted by HIV. As someone who is currently alive because of life-saving medications, I wanted to dedicate my life in service of others. I made a decision not to let my HIV status define me, but instead to use my status as a guiding light and a source of fire, power, pride, and expertise that can help me both connect with the communities that I’m a part of (and that my family, friends, and people I love are also a part of) AND shape the very research questions that promote human dignity, value lived experience, and connect me to a rich history of queer activism.

How would you describe your cultural background?

As a Colombian immigrant who came to the U.S. with my parents when I was two years old and grew up between both cultures, my cultural background means survival and adaptation. I see it as a synthesis and a uniquely personal creative process of integrating U.S. cultural values related to individualism with what my father taught me, values inherent in our Colombian culture of hard work and determination. As I’ve aged and evolved, so has my Latinidad. I’ve come to embrace my bilingualism, code-switching, joy, and pride in this background, knowing that when I walk into a room, I bring with me all that has contributed to the person I am today. The cafecito in the morning with mom and dad, las empanadas colombianas that I love to eat with ají and share in community, the conversations about our own immigration experiences, and talking to others who, like me, grew up as translators for their families between two cultures, never fully feeling part of either, but instead becoming a kind of messenger between both. These unique experiences, both as a Colombian and as an immigrant, give me immense hope and joy.

Is there a cultural tradition, person, or experience that has had a meaningful influence on who you are today?

I recently graduated with my PhD, accepted a postdoc fellowship, and moved from Miami to San Diego. I made the move a family trip and brought María and Jesús, my mom and dad, who are now in their 70s. When I called them after passing my dissertation defense, my mother said something along the lines of, “Mijo, usted no sabe lo que significa esto para nosotros… todo este esfuerzo de llegar a este país y que ya te puedan mirar con respeto…” (“My son, you don’t know what this means to us… all this effort to come to this country, and now people can look at you with respect…”). This sentiment shared by my mother made me realize that this accomplishment was not just about me, but about us as a family unit, and that our story is representative of so many immigrant families in the U.S. who come here in search of a better life and a better future. After graduation, my parents helped me move, and I learned so much about them during that month together, time I hadn’t been able to spend with them during the past five years of my PhD. I saw more clearly their love and support, but also how fragile and vulnerable they have become as they’ve gotten older. I also realized how incredibly lucky I am to still have them here, of sound mind, able to go on little walks with me. That time reminded me to continue showing up for María and Jesús and to try my best to be a good hijo, a good partner, a good friend, and a good researcher. It also reminded me not to take the time I have with them for granted as I embark on this difficult but rewarding journey of embodying the researcher and HIV advocate, I have always dreamed of being.